thanksgiving

 THANKSGIVING!

me and dirty getting ready for lunch. ha ha ha after we took the first picture (left) i told her she had to duck down so she was my height. seriously, she makes me look super small...don't worry, she's younger than me.

me and addison (sp?) alisa (matt's sister) and tyler's little girl. she was born a couple of days early, so she was able to attend thanksgiving. super cute...and tanner than i am. seriously. i don't know what's up with the babies that come from matt's side of the family, super tan. they've NEVER even SEEN the sun! jealous.

 

any of you who have seen

zoolander will be proud of matt's very good

inpressions of his looks.



 ha ha ha, don't tell matt these pictures are up here. he may hide all the salt and diet pepsi in the house when they come to visit. my favorite one is "blue steal" the very last picture. hilarious!

"Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?"

birthday trip to phoenix

so, it's been QUITE awhile since i last posted. unfortunately, not much has been going on lately, so i haven't had much to do anything with. here are some pictures from my trip to phoenix for my birthday to visit emily and matt.

ha ha ha, i didn't sleep very well so i was trying to take a nap. obviously lily wanted to join me, so she pushed me over and then climbed in right next to me. i'm sure we were watching phineas and ferb, which is why she's soo tuned into the tv instead of the camera.

 so, it was SUPER hot in phoenix, but it was fun nonetheless. for my birthday dinner we went to this place called the rustler's roost. it's a steak place, it was REALLY good steak by the way. it has this huge slide that goes to the main dining area downstairs and so the kids ran up and came down the slide all night long. for dessert, they bring out this HUGE eclair thing with candles in it and i had to wear that SUPER DUPER cute cowboy hat (yes, that was sarcasm; i have a sign).

Lily is hilarious when she tries to wink. that's that picture up to the right. she scrunches up her face and tries to close one eye. hilarious. she tried the whole time i was there.

 yes, that is a gorgeous picture of me blowing out my candles on that huge eclair thingy. it was really good though.

 

 see, the slide was a big hit. i went down it, only once, and matt was sad that he didn't have the camera for the look on my face. i think it's been quite awhile since i've gone down a slide. i'll use the stairs from now on.

so, my birthday was a hit. i wish it had been just a tad bit cooler in phoenix, but it was nice. i'd go back...maybe just for the steak. happy birthday to me!

packing continued...

i wanted to be honest with everyone. i've completed changed everything i'm bringing, even down to the suitcase i plan on taking (for now). then i had to repack it all in last night. i'm sick. seriously, i love packing and repacking and then repacking. just wanted to update y'all.

pack light? yeah right.

i'm going on a trip this week. to washington state. i'm really excited. i really am. not just for the trip either. i LOVE to pack. i do. seriously. you see, i don't pack lightly. i like to pack everything I THINK i may need. there are many questions i ask myself when i'm planning on packing (yup, i plan my packing).

-how many days am i going to be there?

-what's the weather like?

-does it rain there?

-hot? cold?

-are we going to "fancy" places where i may need to dress up?
-are we walking around a lot?
-are we swimming?
-are there going to be pictures taken?

those are all i can think of right now, i'm sure there are more. so i go through all of these things and then i add like an extra 10 things to pack per question. really. i think it's a sickness i was born with. example: only going on vacation for a weekend to...vegas. that's a more complex one, but i'll tell you a little of what i would pack. okay...friday, saturday, sunday. i need at least 10 outfits. 1)airplane/travel outfit, 2)outfit to change into once we arrive at hotel, 3)pool outfit, 4)dinner outfit, 5)sleeping clothes, 6)breakfast/shopping outfit, 7) different shorts/shirt for pool, 8)dinner/going out outfit, 9)outfit for walking around day and 10) traveling home outfit. okay, that was a short list. 3 days=10 outfits. that doesn't even include all the accessories, hair stuff, make-up, shoes, and other random stuff i MIGHT need.

the list

now, since the wonderful airlines who are not making enough money already, decided to add some very expensive checked baggage fees, i have to just bring a carryon to this week's vacation. so, i've added some pictures of the confines of my carryon. i'm trying to be really good and pack light...but i don't think that phrase is really in my vocabulary.  

my VERY small luggage. 

this is everything i have to pack into this tiny little baby suitcase. wait, not everything, just the clothes. so i had to employ the use of this...

i'm not joking. i would prefer not to have to use this, but it seems like everything just won't fit. i already asked if i could borrow my friend's blowdryer so i don't have to bring my own. and i'm being way good. only like 2 extra shirts. who knows what could happen! what if i get drenched with rain? what if i spill (i've been known to do this, especially on white shirts)? what if i just don't feel like wearing that shirt that i'd planned on wearing today? it happens. all. the. time. so i'm being prepared. you should be proud of me, instead of making fun.

okay, so i was able to put everything i needed in the space bag.

sidenote: isn't that a cute little flowery bag? i know. clinique. love it.

look! it all fits. i know you thought it couldn't happen, but i am amazing. so this will probably change several times before i actually leave on thursday, but right now it still fits.

now you know my weird ocd obsession. i like to pack early. i like to be prepared. that's my motto with packing. now, if i remember i need something i can throw it in and not be a crazy person on thursday morning. well, crazier. still have a couple of things, chargers, camera...etc, but it WILL fit. don't doubt me, i always win with packing.

now...just wish me luck on the small plane i have to fly on. why do they even make small planes? you hit a tiny turbulence bump and WHAM! you're all over the place. i was in a big plane the last time and we had a bunch of turbulence. i mean a lot. i'm fine on planes usually, but i do get car sick and landing and/or turbulence makes me a little nauceous. while this turbulence was happening i said, "oh, i'm glad i have life insurance." now, it was not quite appropriate at the time, but i was serious. we were freaking BOUNCING around. i'm just glad i didn't throw up...and i bet the other people were too. muahahahaha

randomness

so just to update on what's been going on with me...oh yes, i do know that i lead a boring life, but at least there's no drama.

i bought this wonderful new laptop. it is wonderful!! i had matt look into a new one with these very specific requirements: a)HUGE screen (i have to be able to watch movies without straining my eyes...hello) b)be super duper fast, and c)have a number pad on the right. sadly, i know nothing about what computers are supposed to have like what processor, etc. i let matt figure that all out. but he said that my laptop is faster and better than his desktop, so i know it's totally awesome!!

something i've noticed for quite awhile. i go to target saturday mornings. usually every saturday morning since i wake up at the crack of dawn (not by choice mind you) and i need something to do. i walk around aimlessly and check out new things or dvds on sale. after i waste some time there, i check out and walk past the "food court". EVERY saturday there is a group of old men sitting around drinking coffee and talking. i always think, "oh that's so cute! it's like when you think of the south and old people are sitting on their porches." now, that may be a little stereotypical, but it still warms my heart.

i feel appreciated at work. like a LOT. i don't have health insurance. my job doesn't offer it. i need it. i've worked at this job for roughly 7 months and my insurance ran out about 2 weeks after i started there (i turned 26 sad). so i told my job i need to get insurance and the only way to do that is to get another job. i don't want another job. i LOVE where i work. i LOVE what i do at work. i LOOOOOOVVVVE my paychecks. of course they could be better, but i'm not really complaining. so i could've gotten my old job at the U back, but i really didn't want to go back. i was not appreciated by my boss there at all. yes, they were sad when i left, but having three girls under the age of 26 running a psychiatric clinic with 15 physicians, with no help, does not show appreciation. SOOO after several days of discussing things, my job decided to get insurance for us!! YEAY!! plus, i had just gotten a raise right before this happened, i was a little worried that they were going to take it back. but they didn't!! and they tell me at least once a week how much they like me and that i work hard. THAT is how employees should be treated. it's so nice.

that's all the randomness for right now. probably more later. bye!

places i AM going to go to...

so, as spring break makes it ways here again, i keep thinking about places i'd like to go. we were planning on going on a cruise to the caribbean, but we are waiting on that. while searching out cruises, i've found that i want to go to quite a few places. i'm sure we all do, but i AM going to go to these places. i'm determined. i've compiled some pictures to show you places i want to go. now, this is just a small list...there are many places i'd like to go and things i want to see there. for this trip, since you'd only go once, i've got to start planning now for all the thing to see and/or do.

italy

greece

croatia

santorini

swedan

england

finland

norway

egypt

france

bora bora

fiji

now, as i said before, i was searching for cruises to caribbean. i found a 12 day cruise through the medditerriaean (totally spelled wrong) for roughly $1200. seriously. flight from new york and then a 10 day cruise to most of those places i listed above and then another night in rome (with hotel) and fly back. it seriously includes all that. how could you NOT want to do that? yeah, you're crazy. so, i'm asking for volunteers to go with me on this cruise, not quite sure when yet, but it will be in the foreseeable future.

okay...who wants to go?!

kids, fake smiles, bribes, and threats make for some great family pictures

so, how often does your family do family pictures? every couple of years, right? we didn't used to do family pictures and now we do them several times a year. not joking. seriously. here is yet ANOTHER family picture, at least this one is formal, and we're not wearing the same thing we wore for the last picture. so for your enjoyment i've put this one on here too. lots of kids, lots of fake smiles, lots of bribes, and lots of threats created these wonderful pictures.

so, not sure which one i like better...actually probably neither of them. one day we'll have perfected who needs to wear what color and where they need to stand. just on a sidenote, i ALWAYS have to wear my 3 inch shoes so you can see me in the picture.

yes, 13 grandchildren. tried several poses before deciding on just letting them sit on the floor. not one picture has all of them looking at the camera at the same time. i feel bad for my aunt joy who takes the pictures. it's a little nerve-racking.